Belle of the Nineties

Mae West's first vehicle following the enforcement of the Production Code emerges as a lesser comedy, despite the involvement of the renowned McCarey (who directed many a star comedian around this time, including various Laurel & Hardy shorts, Eddie Cantor, The Marx Bros., W.C. Fields and Harold Lloyd).

As ever, West wrote the script herself: having gone through the titles included in the R1 DVD collection not too long ago, this film can be seen to have adhered strictly to formula – so that, in spite of offering nothing new (all the men, be they naïve or unscrupulous, invariably throw themselves at the star's feet who, of course, plays a notorious chanteuse), the undercasting of the chief supporting players and the severely reduced trademark double entendres, it still gets by on the consummate professionalism on display (conveyed in Paramount's recognizable in-house style). Among the highlights here are a marathon boxing match, a typically soulful number by the underprivileged black community and the fiery climax.

The film's brief 70-minute running-time (in PAL mode) and unassuming plot line makes this ideal for late-night viewing; however, such rampant streamlining also leads to an overly abrupt denouement in which events are neatly tied up via a montage of newspaper clippings!

BELLE OF THE NINETIES (Paramount, 1934), directed by Leo McCarey, stars the "calm and collected" Mae West, contributor to the story, screenplay, and bedside manner dialog ("It's better to be looked over than overlooked"). In her fourth feature film and only 1934 release, it also became the first in a series of Mae West comedy/dramas to have the production seal-of-approval. While not up to the standards as her two previous 1933 efforts of SHE DONE HIM WRONG and I'M NO ANGEL, BELLE OF THE NINETIES has more of a reputation than West herself as being the movie to have gone through numerous production problems. Other than alternate titles before the selected choice, and Roger Pryor as the substitute for the original choice of George Raft, BELLE OF THE NINETIES contains several scenes ending with abrupt blackouts. Other than that, BELLE OF THE NINETIES ranks one of Mae West's most interesting, if not entirely successful screen efforts, with her witty one-liners making this more memorable than the plot itself.

Set in the Gay Nineties, circa 1892-93, in St. Louis, Ruby Carter (Mae West), a burlesque queen (and "The most talked about woman in America"), is much admired by many male patrons who attend the café to watch her perform. She sincerely loves a prizefighter called "The Tiger Kid" (Roger Pryor). Feeling Ruby's affection will complicate the Tiger's chances for the championship fight, Kirby (James Donlan), his manager, schemes to break up their relationship. Unaware of the set-up, Ruby leaves St. Louis for New Orleans to accept an engagement working for Ace Lamont (John Miljan) at his Sensation House. While there she stirs up much attention, especially with Ace, causing his mistress, Molly Brant (Katherine DeMille) to become extremely jealous. Having no interest in Ace, Ruby focuses her attention to Brooks Claybourne (Johnny Mack Brown), a young millionaire now supporting her with expensive diamonds and jewelry. Sometime later, Kirby, along with his star fighter, Tiger Kid, arrive in New Orleans where the Tiger is to fight the Champ in a boxing match being promoted by Ace. Ace, jealous of Ruby's affection towards Brooks, hires Tiger to act as the masked bandit to steal her jewelry while on a carriage ride. Later, Ruby spots Tiger is seen conversing with and giving the Ruby's jewelry Ace. Suspecting some sort of setup, Ruby avenges herself on both men, leading to the unexpected murder of one of them.

With a smooth mix of newer songs (by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow) and nostalgic tunes from the nineties era, such as "And the Band Played On" (better known as "The Strawberry Blonde"), introduced through underscoring during the opening credits, the soundtrack to BELLE OF THE NINETIES includes: "Here We Are" (sung by chorus); "My American Beauty" (sung by Gene Austin with Mae West appearing in tableaux posing as a butterfly, rose, bat, spider and finally the Statue of Liberty); "When a St. Louis Woman Goes Down to New Orleans," "I Hate to Wait," "My Old Flame," "Those Memphis Blues" (by W.C. Handy) and "Troubled Waters" (all sung by West). With the tunes presented and performed, "My Old Flame," is noteworthy. Set at night, West, smoking a cigarette, stands on the outside terrace watching her maid and beau (Libby Taylor and Sam McDaniel) taking part of Brother Eben's prayer meeting. She sings while the spiritual group of Negroes are seen waving their arms as they are being saved in having their sins washed away in the river. The use of super imposing effects between West and the attendees of the prayer meeting, along with shadowy images reflection from the river, is done quite effectively.

In the supporting cast is Warren Hymer ("Hi, Ruby, this is your Bunny Boy." Ruby: "Bunny Boy? I don't know any rabbits"), and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra during the the "Memphis Blues" number.

Although Mae West is usually the central focus, veteran actor John Miljan (1892-1960) as the villainous Ace Lamont, nearly steals the film his leading lady. West's on screen character description of Ace is summed up with this amusing quote: "That guy's no good. His mother should have thrown him out and kept the stork." In their "love" scene, Ace (Miljan) compliments Ruby about her "golden hair, fascinating eyes, alluring smile, lovely arms ..." Ruby quickly responds, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Is this a proposal or are you taking inventory?" One particular scene shows Miljan's true evilness to good advantage as he socks his unwanted mistress, Molly (DeMille) in the jaw, placing her in a closet with the intention of burning down his own casino with her in it so not having to pay off a large gambling debt that would wiped him out financially. Miljan's sinister laugh and dark curly hair add to his snarling meanness. Roger Pryor as the lovesick prizefighter, is showcased well, though never rose to the ranks of stardom. The third billed Johnny Mack Brown is offered the least amount of screen time along with Frederick Burton and Augusta Anderson appearing briefly as his parents.

As with SHE DONE HIM WRONG, BELLE OF THE NINETIES is very authentic in capturing the flavor of the 1890s era, right down from period settings to costumes, compliments of costume designer, Travis Banton.

BELLE OF THE NINETIES, which went on video cassette in 1992, includes an added bonus of a theatrical trailer featuring certain key sings along with her singing "My Old Flame" differently from what was used in the final print. Nearly a decade later, BELLE OF THE NINETIES became the first Mae West feature from her Paramount years to be distributed on DVD. So far, both VHS and DVD formats have come and gone, as well as having acquired a rare cable TV broadcast in later years on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere July 3, 2014). (***)

The movie star most affected by the newly enforced Production Code was Mae West. She was one of the main catalysts why a stricter enforcement from the Hays Office was enacted by mid-1934. West's first movie under the new censorship system, September 1934's "Belle of the Nineties," underwent several laborious revisions before filming was underway as well as being required by the censors to reshoot several scenes after their circumspect review of the movie.

West was familiar with uptight censors from her previous stage and early movie works. Thrown in a New York City jail after police shut down her first play in 1927, the now-41-year-old actress wrote a bawdy movie script based on her play, 'It Ain't No Sin,' knowing the Hays Office was going to chop it to shreds. Her low opinion on censors was reflected in her autobiography. "Every person who is not a moron or a mental defective of some sort carries a very effective censor and super-critic of his actions in his cerebral cortex, and in his heart," West wrote. "If that doesn't work, no amount of censorship from the outside will do anybody any good." West was well prepared which passages were going to be sliced, and wrote a backup script with less raunchy lines.

The censors at first amazingly left in the original title. Paramount Pictures, as a publicity stunt, gathered 40 parrots and taught them to say the phrase "It Ain't No Sin." Eventually, head censor Jospeh Breen realized the title had to be changed and demanded it be. Since no one wanted parrots who repeatedly shrieking "It Ain't No Sin," they were all transported back to South America where they came from and released into the jungle. The birds could be heard by the natives in the area for years high up in the trees screeching the line over and over again.

Before the "Belle of the Nineties" was seen by the censors, the studio previewed the movie before an audience. The viewers howled at Mae West's racy lines and the situations she found herself in. But that was before the censors visually saw it and sliced out some, in their eyes, questionable scenes. The end result was acceptable by contemporary film critics back then as well as the public, although it failed to gain the popularity as her previous movies. Wrote one The New York Times reviewer, "There are gags for every taste and most of them are outrageously funny according to almost any standard of humor." Today's reassessment of "Belle of the Nineties" is not as generous as when it was first released. Modern reviewer Barry Chapman noted her movie "would probably have been a lot funnier if the Hays Office hadn't 'protected' moviegoers." An even harsher review was written by David Nusair, highlighting the movie is "unlikely to please even the most ardent of West's followers, with the almost total absence of positive attributes, aside from West's mere presence." "Belle of the Nineties" does offer several songs from West, backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, including what would become the popular hit "My Old Flame."

The actress adjusted to the new moral code to deliver first-rate comedy films, but none came close to her 1933 hits "She Done Him Wrong" and "I'm No Angel." The viewing public was looking for more sauce on the screen, and were denied that because of the censors' heavy hand.

This movie is classic Mae West, full of one-liners with carefully disguised meanings to escape the censors. It's interesting to note that this is the movie where she really began to fight with the Hays Office and the Breen Office to get her movie past the censors...She had to change the title from "It's No Sin" (people picketed in the streets with signs that said, "Yes, It Is"). Therefore, this movie could be seen by some as not quite as good as her 3 previous movies. However, it is still a gem from Mae's classic period. Everyone should see a Mae West movie at least once...

It is the 1890's St. Louis. Vaudeville star Ruby Carter (Mae West) becomes involved with boxer Tiger Kid. His manager breaks them up and she leaves for New Orleans. Ace Lamont falls for her which drives Molly Brant jealous.

As Mae West transitions into the Code era, she seems to have a couple of different moves. Certainly, the jokes are a little tamer and this one has her singing more songs. I'm not a big fan of her singing. Her uniqueness derives from her bodied sexualized humor. I find myself fading during her singing. I'm not saying that it's bad in any sense. It's just not what I want from her.